AERONAUTICS

AERONAUTICS

The science and art of flight, encompassing the functioning and ownership of aircraft vehicles from balloons to those that travel into space.
Aviation is travel by means of an aircraft that
is heavier than air. Aerospace is a term used in
reference to the atmosphere and the area
beyond. The aerospace industry is involved with
the planning and building of vehicles operating
in both air and space.

Airspace is the region that extends above real
property. Air transportation, as set forth by federal
statute, refers to interstate and distant conveyance
of people, cargo, and mail by U.S. and
foreign aircraft vehicles.

Airspace Rights
The federal government has jurisdiction over airspace within its domain, and each state has authority over the space above the grounds within its borders except in places within the
domain of federal regulation. An aircraft is subject
to the authority of the federal government
and to the authority of a particular state while
traveling over it. Landowners have air rights that
extend upward beyond their property, the
boundaries of which are delineated by local
ZONING ordinances. These air rights ordinarily
may be used to the extent that they are connected
to the enjoyment of the property.

Since the general public has a right to freedom
of travel in the navigable airspace of the
United States, an aircraft may have legal access
to airspace above private property. A landowner
might have a civil CAUSE OF ACTION for TRESPASS
or NUISANCE, however, where an aircraft
enters landowner’s airspace in such manner as to
constitute an infringement on the landowner’s
right to the use and possession of the property.
In some instances the landowner is entitled to
an INJUNCTION to prohibit unlawful intrusion
of his or her airspace.

Air Transportation Regulation
The FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION (FAA) is the agency with the authority to govern air commerce. The intent of such regulation is to
advance the growth and safety of air travel while
simultaneously satisfying national defense
needs. The director of the FAA has the power to
engage in, or monitor, work and testing that will
bring about the production of advanced aircraft;
to set forth prescribed rules and regulations for
the planning and servicing of airplanes; and to
administer stringent sanctions if the regulations
are not observed. The FAA is also responsible for
air traffic control at airports. The NATIONAL
TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD (NTSB) is
charged with the responsibility of investigating
the circumstances surrounding, and the causes
of, accidents involving aircraft.

Certificate Requirements
An airplane must have a valid airworthiness
certificate in order for it to be lawfully operated.
The airworthiness of a plane is determined by an
inspector authorized by the FAA. The inspector
may neither delegate this duty to inspect the aircraft
nor depart from procedures for inspection
that have been prescribed by the administrator
of the FAA.

The FAA administrator is empowered to create
minimum standards for the inspection,
maintenance, and repair of air carrier equipment
as well as for safe operation of the vehicle.
Another important function of the administrator
is to issue certificates to eligible aeronautical
personnel: that includes pilots, navigators, and
people who inspect, maintain, overhaul, and
repair aircraft. The administrator specifies the
particular function that each of these individuals
is qualified to perform.

Certain prerequisites exist for an airline pilot
rating, including a great degree of technical skill,
medical fitness, care, judgment, and emotional
stability. If public safety is endangered, the FAA
administrator will either revoke or suspend a
pilot’s license. A pilot is entitled to notice and a
fair hearing before the revocation or suspension
of his or her certification, absent an emergency
that warrants immediate action. The pilot may
appeal the order of suspension or revocation to
the NTSB, and subsequent appeals may be
brought to the usual appellate channels of federal
courts ordinarily beginning in a U.S. district
court.

Regulation on the State and Local Level
A state or municipality has the authority to
regulate the air traffic that affects it. This power,
however, is limited by the condition that the regulation
must not interfere or conflict with either
interstate commerce or federal restraints. State
or municipal regulations on noise precipitated
by aircraft engines may not, for example, conflict
with federal rules governing noise POLLUTION.
Airport Operation

The state can give a local legislature the
power to regulate airports and their connected
facilities. States may join together to form a
regional airport authority to operate an airport.
An airport may also be built and maintained by
a private party or a corporation, subject to the
requirement that use and enjoyment of neighboring
landowners’ property is not unreasonably
disrupted.

Airports that are not properly constructed
and operated might amount to nuisances. A private
homeowner can sue for damages in the
event that an improperly run airport constitutes
a nuisance, and can attempt to have the court
suspend its operation pursuant to the provisions
of an injunction. Notice must be given to the
municipality before such a cause of action may
be commenced against it. In considering the
need for intervention concerning the building
and operation of airports, courts examine the interests of the concerned parties in light of prevailing
public policy in favor of encouraging
quiet use and enjoyment of one’s land compared
to the interests of society in accessible and convenient
air travel.

The creation and maintenance of airports
are subject to zoning regulations. In certain
jurisdictions a public agency is empowered by
the state to adopt zoning laws that limit the use
of adjacent property. Such ordinances are
designed to reduce interference with the operation
of the airport.

The owner of a public airport may arrange
leases for its use, and a municipality that owns
an airport may charge reasonable fees for the
right to do business there. A public airport
owner has the power to govern its ground transportation,
to give qualified individuals and companies
exclusive privileges to transport
passengers to and from the airport, and to run
an automobile rental company on airport
grounds.

Use and Ownership of Aircraft Vehicles
The legality of the sale or conveyance of an
aircraft is regulated by the statute of the jurisdiction
where the document of conveyance or
sale is transferred.

Federal law mandates the registration of aircraft
and the proper recording of any paper that
affects its title, such as a mortgage. Such recording
must take place at the administration and
records branch of the FAA. In addition, documents
creating security interests in the aircraft
must be recorded to provide notice to prospective
purchasers of prior claims to the vehicle.

General principles of contract law govern
aircraft rental and parties to the agreement are
ordinarily bound by its terms. The renter of a
defective vehicle might, however, has the right to
terminate the contract since the individual
offering the aircraft for rent is obligated to provide
a vehicle in satisfactory operating condition.

Duties in Aircraft Operation
An individual who is injured as a result of
the operation of an aircraft usually has a legally
enforceable right to damages for any injuries or
losses sustained.

Manufacturers
A manufacturer is under a
duty to exercise reasonable care and proficiency
in the design, production, and assembly of an
aircraft vehicle. Liability for a departure from
this duty may be extended to the manufacturer
regardless of whether that company was directly
involved in the manufacture of the parts. The
law will imply a WARRANTY of proper design
and manufacture of an aircraft. A manufacturer
of parts will also be held responsible for damage
caused by the product and must use a high
degree of care in their production, although they
need not be made accident-proof. A manufacturer
is not relieved of a continuing obligation
to improve the component parts of an air vehicle
when there is continuing risk to safe travel.

Pilots
The pilot of a private aircraft is subject
to ordinary NEGLIGENCE standards in the
absence of a special law. The pilot is required to
exercise ordinary, but not extreme, care and caution
regarding its operation. Negligence rules,
however, impose a greater standard of care when
applied to aviation, because of the severity and
magnitude of potential harm posed by improper
operation of an aircraft.

Owners
Generally ownership of an aircraft
vehicle is insufficient to render an owner liable
for damage resulting from its unreasonable
operation by another. In certain jurisdictions,
however, an owner who lends a plane to an individual
he or she knows to be reckless or incompetent
will be held responsible. Similarly, the
federal or state government cannot evade liability
for damage arising out of the improper operation
of its aircraft by government employees.

Passengers
Passengers in a private aircraft
have the obligation to exercise reasonable care
for their own well-being. They must subscribe to
the reasonable person standard and refrain from
going on a particular flight that would be an
obvious danger, such as a flight during a hurricane.
Passengers on airlines and other air common
carriers must observe safety precautions by
obeying instructions of flight attendants, such as
by fastening their seatbelts.

Operators of Airplanes
An airport operator has the duty to exercise ordinary care in protecting
aircraft on its premises and the people who
use airport facilities. Neglecting to maintain the
airport premises in a reasonably safe condition
results in TORT liability for resulting injuries to
persons present.

Air Traffic Control
The federal government has responsibility
for air traffic control. Air traffic controllers have
a duty to keep aircraft from colliding with each
other by guiding their paths. Liability can be extended to the federal government for the negligence
of its air traffic controllers. Contributory
negligence by the individual harmed might,
however, prevent recovery against the United
States for damage caused only partially by the
negligence of controllers.

Airlines

An airline has the duty to employ the greatest
degree of care possible to protect its passengers.
Liability might be imposed for harm to a passenger
resulting from wrongful behavior of its
employees. It must also take steps to guard passengers
against misconduct of fellow passengers.
Companies that accept goods for air transport
must exercise a high degree of care to properly
handle and deliver such goods. Liability for
loss or damage may be restricted to a prearranged
amount, which must be listed on the
passenger’s ticket in the case of baggage or on
the bill of lading regarding the goods shipped.

Flying Schools
A flying school that maintains facilities that
interfere with the customary use and enjoyment
of property by neighboring landowners can be
liable for nuisance or trespass. A student pilot
flying with a flight instructor is considered
legally to be a passenger, and, therefore, the
school owes the same duty of care to the student
as a commercial airline owes to its passenger. A
trainee, however, assumes certain risks while
being taught to fly and the school can successfully
assert the defense of ASSUMPTION OF THE
RISK in tort cases. A member of a flight club, as
an owner of an airplane that belongs to the club,
may be held personally liable for accidents that
might occur while he or she is piloting the craft.
Statutes that govern the liability of a flight club
member should be consulted.

Following the SEPTEMBER 11TH TERRORIST
ATTACKS, Congress moved to tighten regulations
on flying schools. Terrorists who hijacked and
crashed airplanes into the World Trade Center
and the Pentagon had trained at flying schools
in the United States. The goal of the post-
September 11 reform is to make information
about foreign flight school enrollees more readily
accessible to law enforcement agencies.

Under the USA PATRIOT ACT OF 2001, flying
schools are one of several types of educational
institutions required to participate in the Student
and Exchange Visitor Information System
(SEVIS) implemented by the U.S. Immigration
and Naturalization Service. Exempt from federal
privacy restrictions, SEVIS is a database of information
about foreign students, such as identification,
visa status, and criminal data. Flying
schools failing to participate in SEVIS may lose
their ability to enroll international students.
Under broadened powers granted by the
PATRIOT Act, the U.S. Attorney General may
make use of such information to seize educational
records, conduct surveillance, bypass certain
SEARCH WARRANT requirements, and take
into custody ALIENS whose visa status is in violation.

Air Piracy
Aircraft PIRACY or an attempt to hijack an
airplane is a federal offense, punishable by either
death or imprisonment. Airlines can deny an
individual passage on an airplane if a magnetometer
(an instrument used to measure magnetic
intensity) indicates the presence of a metal
object, such as a weapon, on that person by registering
a positive reading and the person refuses
to surrender to the appropriate officials any
metal object that might have triggered the
instrument.

Aerospace
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA) was established by Congress to
organize, direct, and carry out research into difficulties
attached to flight within and beyond the
atmosphere of the earth and to facilitate the
development and functioning of aeronautical
vehicles.

FURTHER READINGS
Fixel, Rowland W. 1999. The Law of Aviation. Holmes Beach,
Fla.: Gaunt.
Hamilton, J. Scott. 2001. Practical Aviation Law. 3d ed.Ames:
Iowa State Univ. Press.
Institute of Air & Space Law’s Air and Aviation Law Website.
Available online at
(accessed November 10, 2003).
Journal of Air Law and Commerce Website. Available online
at (accessed November 10,
2003).
Rollo, Vera A. Foster. 2000. Aviation Law: An Introduction.
5th ed. Lanham,Md.: Maryland Historical Press.

CROSS-REFERENCES
Airlines; Carriers; Federal Aviation Administration; Hijacking; National Transportation Safety Board; Pilot; Terrorism.